


A Bigger Box

by Tammaiya



Category: Tokyo Babylon
Genre: Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-07-07
Updated: 2004-07-07
Packaged: 2018-08-09 13:23:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7803601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tammaiya/pseuds/Tammaiya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hokuto makes Subaru's life terrible and mortifying with <i>love</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Bigger Box

"SUU~BA~RUUUUUUUU~!"  
  
"… Hokuto-chan?" Nervously, Subaru poked his head around the door and shrank from the glare his twin greeted him with. She looked like some kind of avenging angel.  
  
"Subaru, what are you still doing in your room?" Hokuto demanded, hands on her hips. "Sei-chan is going to be here any moment! You can't keep your future husband waiting, can you?"  
  
"But, but…" Subaru stammered weakly, blushing slightly as Hokuto tapped her foot.  
  
"C'mon, but what?" she asked impatiently.  
  
"But I can't wear this," he mumbled, blush turning bright red as he studied the floor.  
  
"Don't be silly!" Hokuto declared, waving her arms to punctuate her words. "Of course you can, it looks really cute!"  
  
"But it's so short!" he protested, tugging ineffectually at the shorts Hokuto had seen fit to stuff him into.  
  
Hokuto rolled her eyes. "Well, _duh_!" she exclaimed. "How else do you expect to get Sei-chan to take notice? Honestly, Subaru, if you want to be a good wife you have to look good!"  
  
Before Subaru could respond, there was a knock at the door. Hokuto spun around with a squeal, grabbing her brother's wrist and dragging him forcefully out into the corridor. "SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEI-CHAN!"  
  
"Hello, Hokuto-chan. Ah, Subaru-kun, you look cute as always," Seishirou greeted them, eyes showing suppressed laughter as he smiled.  
  
"See?" Hokuto hissed under her breath, giving Subaru a little shove in Seishirou's direction. "Go say hello, dummy!"  
  
"S-S-Seishirou-san," Subaru squeaked, bowing in a futile attempt to hide how flustered he was.  
  
Seishirou chuckled, amused as always by the innocence of his Subaru-kun, forever stuffed into outrageous clothes by his determined sister. "Is there a special occasion?"  
  
"N-no…"  
  
"Of course there is!" Hokuto interrupted cheerfully. "Wouldn't you say any meeting between the two of you is a special occasion, Sei-chan?"  
  
"You're right, Hokuto-chan," Seishirou agreed smoothly. "Any time I see my Subaru-kun is special indeed!"  
  
Hokuto cackled and pranced off in the kitchen to leave her brother and his 'future husband' to bond. Subaru stood at the door staring blankly at his feet while Seishirou waited patiently just outside, contemplating how long it would take the younger onmyouji to figure out he was blocking the doorway. It was worth the wait; when Subaru opened his mouth to ask why Seishirou wasn't moving, he realised that he hadn't actually invited the man in and flushed with rather adorable mortification.  
  
"Oh! Seishirou-san, I'm sorry! Please, come in," Subaru said politely, stepping out of the way as quickly as possible. Mentally smirking, Seishirou waved off Subaru's apology and entered the apartment, picking up a large box and bringing it with him.  
  
Subaru stared at it with eyes as wide as saucers. "Seishirou-san?"  
  
Seishirou winked, bringing the box into the living room and dropping it by the sofa. "I brought it for you as a surprise, Subaru-kun."  
  
"Go Sei-chan! That's so sweet!" Hokuto called, emerging from the kitchen with two bowls of soup and a big grin on her face. "Go on, Subaru, open it before I die of the suspense!"  
  
So careful as to be almost reverential, Subaru untied the ribbon around the box and lifted the lid. Inside, there was a teddy bear lying in a bed of pink sakura petals, and as he reached out to it, Subaru felt a half-forgotten memory stir at the back of his mind, a storm of sakura swirling chaotically through the air… he froze, missing the suspicious look Hokuto shot at Seishirou, and then the moment passed. Cuddling the bear close, he sat back on his heels and smiled up at Seishirou.  
  
"Thank you very much, Seishirou-san!" he said softly. "Why did you give it to me?"  
  
"Well, I saw it in a shop and it reminded me of you," Seishirou said innocently. "Both so cute!"  
  
"S-Seishirou-san!"  
  
"Gifts of love to win my brother over! Now that's the right idea!" Hokuto announced happily. "Let me see!"  
  
Not waiting for Subaru's answer, she leant forward, forgetting about the soup she still held as she tried to get a proper look at her twin's new possession. Subaru, realising that the soup was about to fall on his teddy, yelped and moved to protect the bear from being ruined. However, this resulted in Subaru himself getting soup all over his clothes, not to mention having to endure the pain of the two bowls colliding into his head and his legs respectively. "Ow!"  
  
"Subaru, your clothes are ruined!" Hokuto wailed dramatically.  
  
"Are you okay?" Seishirou asked, voice concerned.  
  
"Aa," Subaru reassured him, wincing slightly as he touched his head gingerly. "I'm fine."  
  
"You have to go have a shower, Subaru," Hokuto said with a sigh. "Here, I'll take the bear and make some more lunch. Sorry, Sei-chan, it might take a while."  
  
"Yes, Nee-san," Subaru mumbled, passing her the bear and struggling to his feet. "I'm sorry, Seishirou-san," he added nervously as he headed towards the bathroom. "I… really like it."  
  
Seishirou shook his head. "Don't be sorry, Subaru-kun! It's not your fault, after all."  
  
Once her brother had left the room, Hokuto treated Seishirou to an indecipherable look for a second before handing him the bear. "Here, why don't you take care of him while I cook lunch again?"  
  
"I would be delighted, of course," Seishirou answered, accepting it without a second thought.  
  
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Subaru had emerged from the shower to the rather terrible discovery that he had forgotten to bring a change of clothes in with him. Almost fainting, he realised this meant he would have to walk through the living room to reach his room.  
  
The living room. Where Seishirou was. Gulp.  
  
Steeling himself, Subaru pulled his gloves on, wrapped two towels around him and made sure they were as secure as possible before taking a deep breath and creeping as unobtrusively as possible down the hall to the living room.  
  
"Um… Subaru?" Hokuto said, surprise flickering in her tone.  
  
Subaru flinched and blushed again as Seishirou turned to look at him and blinked. "Subaru-kun? Why…?"  
  
Subaru was beginning to see the merits of being able to die on the spot or sink through the floor. "I. Um. I'm just…"  
  
Words were completely failing him and he didn't like the rather evil speculative look that was dawning on his sister's face, so Subaru decided to make a break for it and explain later.  
  
Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten that the box was still in a somewhat obstructive position, and when he tried to move past he tripped and ending up falling into it, limbs sprawled over the edges in an awkward and mildly painful tangle. Furthermore, his towels weren't quite as secure as he'd hoped and he was unable to move to salvage the situation.  
  
Cheeks glowing with embarrassment, Subaru groaned quietly and wondered how he always managed to get into these messes. Seishirou and Hokuto were in fits of laughter, and if he were more inclined to anger he might yell at his sister to save what was left of his dignity.  
  
"Now I know your real intentions, Sei-chan!" Hokuto declared playfully. "You're trying to abduct my darling brother, you pervert!"  
  
"Alas, you've caught me out, my dear sister-in-law!" Seishirou responded tragically. "You see, I put the box there on purpose so my Subaru-kun would trip!"  
  
Actually, Subaru wouldn't put it past either of them to try that stunt, but he kept his mouth shut, whimpering in appeal.  
  
"Well, in that case, Sei-chan, poor Subaru looks kind of uncomfortable," Hokuto said thoughtfully, moving over to lend her twin a hand. "I think we're going to need a bigger box."


End file.
